The Guard of the Eagle
by EvilSlytherinPrincess
Summary: Not only does Harry have some secret person watching him and causing chaos in his life, but he also has to teach DADA to the young students! Then there’s the whole bit about Voldemort, and Harry forming his own Alliance... full summary inside...
1. Prologue

Hi y'all!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.  
  
Summary of my Story: This is Harry's sixth year at Hogwart's, and it is going to be quite interesting. Not only does Harry have some secret person watching him and causing chaos in his life, but he also has to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts to the young students! Then there's the whole bit about Voldemort and Harry's creation of his own Alliance. Okay, I admit, this summary is awful and probably doesn't make any sense at all, but the story is going to be fun and I hope you read it!  
  
Prologue   
  
Glancing up from her place under the shadowy maple, Karima noticed the front doors of Hogwarts open. Three students walked out, talking quietly. The easiest to spot was the tall, lanky figure of Ron Weasley, with his bright red hair. Karima let her eyes pause on him for a moment. Although Ron came from the poor Weasley family, Karima knew his skills were impressive. His flying had greatly improved over the past year, although his wand magic still lacked a bit. But still, Ron was a threat when working together with his friends.  
  
Ah, the others. Her focus shifted to the short girl who was next to Ron. Hermione Granger, with her bushy brown hair, was also one to be watched. She knew the answer to most any question, and she had a fierce loyalty to her friends.  
  
Karima's gaze slide to the final student, and the true power within the group: the famous Harry Potter. No need to wonder about his skills. She could spit them off in a fast stream. Harry Potter: courageous; strong; fantastic flyer; intelligent; a leader; good student, particularly in the Defense against the Dark Arts area; highly skilled and powerful; annoyingly lucky; quite reliant upon his friends; nosy; too curious; and he had a very good heart. Those were the skills that could define the boy.  
  
As the trio approached, she backed against the tree, disappearing into the shadows so that she couldn't be seen. She overheard part of their conversation as they passed.  
  
"Try to cheer up some, Harry, please." Pleaded Hermione, "At least V- Voldemort wasn't able to hear the prophecy before it was smashed."  
  
"You think that's enough to equal Sirius' death? You think that was a good price to pay for a stupid little ball?" Harry's eyes flashed, and Hermione looked at the ground, shaking her head. They had stopped walking, and stood merely ten feet away from Karima. Ron broke the silence.  
  
"Wish we could have heard what it said, don't you?" Ron asked them. While Hermione nodded in agreement, Karima noticed that Harry avoided Ron's eyes and began fidgeting. 'Hm... so Mr. Potter finally knows.' She mused to herself. 'Harry Potter knows about his destiny.' Smiling slightly, Karima watched as they continued on their way. In an hour she, along with the trio, would board the Hogwarts Express to go home for the summer holidays. Of course, she smirked slightly, she wouldn't be going home. She'd be going to the Dursleys'.  
  
Karima climbed onto the train, lifting her small bag of belongings up after her. After storing it in an empty compartment, she glanced out the window. Potter was just boarding. Swiftly, she hurried to lock herself in the compartment, fogging the glass with a simple charm to hide what she was about to do.  
  
She changed into her magical form, the Bald Eagle. Of course, this was not the eagle as in the Muggle world, but the true eagle of the wizards. Although it looked the same, it possessed many unique magical powers. Among these was the ability to become invisible, which Karima quickly put to use.  
  
She glided out into the hallway, scanning the groups of people for that specific head of untidy black hair. She found him just entering the last compartment. Slipping in, she settled herself by the window. It was now time to begin 'watching over' Harry Potter.  
  
Yes, well, that was a rather short prologue, but Chapter One is also up and I'm sure you'll enjoy it, so go on! 


	2. Haunting the Dursleys

I don't really have anything to say, so here's the Chapter:  
  
Chapter One: Haunting the Dursleys   
  
When Harry woke up on the first morning of his summer holiday, he right away wished he could fall asleep again. Life was better in his dreams.  
  
Pulling on one of Dudley's giant t-shirts, Harry didn't even attempt to comb his hair. Instead, he wandered downstairs. Thoughtlessly, he began making breakfast, barely conscious of the fact that the Dursleys had yet to wake up.  
  
Harry's mind was spinning and his insides felt so desperate. The whole of his problems drove him crazy.  
  
Voldemort had regained power. Soon the Dark Lord would have his Death- Eaters back- the prison would not hold them for long. Voldemort was going to conquer and kill many innocent people. The terror that was spreading through the country was beginning to affect Harry.  
  
Then there was the prophecy. Even when he wasn't thinking about it, the lurking note in the back of his mind reminded him that he would have to kill or be killed. The stress of realizing that it might be him who was the only hope of truly destroying Voldemort made his stomach ache.  
  
And then, finally, there was Sirius. His godfather had died, and all because of him. If Harry hadn't been in such a mood to 'play the hero', Sirius would still be there. Part of him wanted to blame Snape. After all, he hadn't taught Harry occlumency. But Harry knew it was wrong. He hadn't practiced, hadn't even tried, to block people out. He'd wanted to see the visions. He'd wanted to know.  
  
Pushing those thoughts aside, Harry finished making his breakfast and was just sitting down to eat when Dudley walked in. When the pig saw Harry's meal already made, he decided on taking the easy way out. Walking over to Harry, Dudley raised his fist to punch Harry aside and claim his breakfast. But just as he began to lower it on the unsuspecting victim, a loud voice bellowed from behind them.  
  
"DUDLEY, YOU HAD BETTER NOT TOUCH HIM!" screamed Uncle Vernon. Surprised, the two boys spun around, their minds spinning. Dudley was wondering why his father minded him hitting Harry today, when every other time it was just fine. Harry was wondering where his uncle had gotten that hideous violet bathrobe.  
  
"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND BOY?" bellowed Vernon, glaring at Dudley, and for the first time in his life, advancing on his own son, "IF YOU TOUCH HIM, ALL THOSE WIZARD FOLK WILL COME BURSTING INTO OUR HOME, READY TO- TO USE M-MAG... TO USE YOU-KNOW-WHAT ON US!" So that explained things. Harry didn't think it was legal for anyone to curse the Dursleys, but he nodded knowingly at Dudley, just the same.  
  
At that moment, Aunt Petunia happened to wander into the kitchen. She smiled in greeting at her husband and son, but when her eyes found Harry, she made a slight whimpering noise in her throat and hurriedly turned her back. Finishing his meal, Harry quickly left the kitchen. The last thing he wanted to do was spend time with his insane 'family'.  
  
Climbing the steps to his room, Harry walked straight to the window to let in Hedwig. She gave him a miffed hoot before dropping a letter on his bed and then proceeding to her cage. Harry walked over and began to feed her and give her clean water.  
  
"Sorry about the window girl, but it was raining last night. I couldn't let the entire room get drenched." Harry told her, stroking her slowly. She nipped him gently to say she forgave him, and Harry turned his attention to the letter that was waiting for him on his bed. He carried it to his desk and unrolled the parchment.  
  
Dear Harry,  
I wrote this as soon as I got home last night- I can't believe I forgot to tell you. Hedwig must be really smart, because just as I was wondering how to send this to you, she showed up at my window. Anyway, the point is that I completely forgot to tell you that Ron's mom plans on us shopping for new school supplies on August 1st. I thought you'd want to know, so that you could have something to look forward to during the holidays. I hope the Dursleys treat you better this year, what with Moody's warning and everything. Write me soon to tell me you're okay.  
  
Love from Hermione  
  
Harry quickly scribbled a reply, telling Hermione about what had happened during breakfast. He set the letter on his desk, deciding to wait until later to send it. Hedwig deserved a chance to rest and relax before being sent out again.  
  
Time passed as Harry and the Dursleys continued to live side by side, yet never interacting with each other. One night, after about three weeks of the silence, Harry received another letter, this one from a barn owl. Surprised by the strange deliverer, Harry pulled it open right away. It was a letter from Moody.  
  
Harry,  
Just thought I'd let you know I'll be visiting soon. Might want to warn that old prune, Dursley.  
A. Moody  
  
Harry quickly looked over the paper. Nowhere did it say when Moody was coming, only that he was. Warily, Harry listened to the sounds of Vernon's snores down the hall. Telling them was not going to be fun.  
  
He approached his uncle the next morning. Vernon appeared to be in one of his rare, good moods. He'd actually gotten through an entire first helping without screaming or smacking someone. Still, Harry was worried about his uncle's response. Cautiously, he cleared his throat.  
  
"Erm, Uncle Vernon?" he asked. As usual, Vernon grunted to show he was listening. "I, uh, Hedwig brought me a letter last night and, um..." he paused, wishing he didn't have to say it. "It was a letter from Alastor Moody-"  
  
"Y-You're getting letters from that- that man?" squeaked Vernon, turning a lovely shade of green.  
  
"Er, yes, letters, but that's not the point..." At the look in Vernon's eyes, Harry suddenly became positive that he wouldn't live if he told them.  
  
"And what, exactly, is the point?" whispered Vernon, his voice a low growl.  
  
"Ah, Moody sent me the letter to tell me, to tell me that he was going to be, uh-"  
  
"OUT WITH IT BOY!"  
  
"Moody's going to be stopping by!" Harry blurted out. The reactions were almost comical. Dudley's eyes rolled back in his head and he dropped onto the ground with a sickening splat. Petunia made a sad little whimpering sound, and her lips pressed tighter together than Harry thought possible. And Vernon, well, he went from green to white to bright red.  
  
"I will not be having that monster in my house!" bellowed Vernon, jumping to his feet. He slammed his fist onto the table so hard that one of the teacups rattled so much that it fell off the edge.  
  
"I really don't think you have much of a choice, you see, he didn't say when he was coming, so he might be on his way already, and it's not like he'd listen to you anyway, he thinks you're a great prune." Harry rambled on, immediately regretting mentioning the prune part.  
  
"G-Go to your room, right now." ordered Vernon. Harry quickly complied.  
  
Ten hours later, Harry heard a knock on his door. Glancing up, he saw Vernon glaring down at him.  
  
"Er, did your friend mention how he would be getting here?" asked Vernon, his earlier anger now replaced with apparent fear. Harry hadn't thought about how Moody would be arriving. He'd picked him up on broomstick last year, but the Weasleys had come to him through the floo network.  
  
"I'm not sure..." Harry paused, because a thought had suddenly struck him. Moody wasn't picking him up, he was just stopping by. He'd most likely just apparate into the house. Harry looked at his uncle, wondering about how to tell him that a man might just pop into their household. He found he never got a chance to explain, because the next second, Aunt Petunia started shrieking from the kitchen.  
  
When Harry had arrived downstairs, he immediately saw that Petunia and Dudley were standing with their backs pressed against the refrigerator, staring toward the door. Turning to the door, Harry caught his first glimpse of Moody.  
  
"Hello Potter." Was Moody's greeting, and the scarred man walked across the room. One of his eyes was fixed of Harry, but his other eye was rolling about inside his head, watching the Dursleys. "What are we having for dinner?" As the Dursleys huddled together, terrified, Harry felt himself smiling for the first time since he'd watched Sirius flutter through the curtain.  
  
Not ten minutes later, they had managed to sit themselves around the table. It seemed that the Dursleys were trying to rush through things in order that Moody would leave just as quickly. Obviously Moody had noticed Vernon's frantic shoveling of food into his mouth, because Moody, in response, seemed to eat slower and slower. While Vernon and Moody both tried for records in how fast/slow you could eat, the rest of the table remained quiet and nervous. Petunia picked at her food, never taking her eyes from Moody, lest he make any sudden movements.  
  
"So Harry, done your homework for the summer yet?" asked Moody. Harry thought about the five reports he had due when he returned to school. He looked at Moody, feeling a bit guilty that he'd neglected them for almost half the summer.  
  
"Eh, no." said Harry. Moody frowned.  
  
"I'd get on it if I were you. You may also want to start reading over your Defense Against the Dark Arts books from your first three years."  
  
"Why's that?" Harry asked, wondering about who their new teacher would be.  
  
"Let's just say you may have a few extra responsibilities for the beginning of the year, alright?" Moody said. He lifted a tiny bit of steak to his mouth and chewed it slowly, while the Dursleys continued to watch him in terror.  
  
It was after the 'record-breaking' dinner that Moody decided to clean his eye. With a horrifying pop, his pulled it out and plunked it into the glass of water that Harry presented to him. Then he made a mistake. His mistake was leaving his eye alone, in the kitchen, with Karima.  
  
Of course, Moody had no idea Karima was even in the country, let alone inside the house. No one really knew about Karima's present state at all, so it would have been completely pointless to suspect danger in the Dursley household. But getting back to the point, Moody foolishly left his eye in the kitchen, while he joined the Dursleys in the living room for a chat.  
  
Now Karima knew all about Moody's powerful eye that swiveled around and could see through things. And Karima also knew that the magical eye would make the perfect toy for her idea, so, feeling no guilt, Karima simply walked over to the glass and pulled the eye out. Clutching it in her hand, she transformed into her eagle and flew up to rest on top of the refrigerator, waiting for the perfect opportunity.  
  
"Harry, where'd you put that glass with my eye in it?" asked Moody, stumbling across the kitchen. Harry looked over at the table where he'd set the glass and was surprised to see only a water glass sitting there.  
  
"Ah, it used to be in that glass there." Harry pointed and Moody rounded on the table.  
  
"Someone's made off with my eye!" Moody growled. "If that great prune or any of his family has touched my eye, I'll curse them!" Moody started toward the living room, most likely to holler at the Dursleys again, but he suddenly stopped and glanced back at Harry.  
  
"It might not have been one of them, Potter. It might've been someone else." Harry frowned.  
  
"Who else would be in our kitchen?"  
  
"I wouldn't know Potter, but if it was someone else, you'd best be looking after yourself." Moody rested a hand on Harry's shoulder. "We'll be watching you too, but don't forget to look after yourself boy."  
  
"I will." promised Harry.  
  
Moody opened the door and stepped out, but threw one last sentence over his shoulder. "And do your best to locate my eye!" With that, the auror vanished, leaving Harry to hope that the Dursleys had taken Moody's eye, and not someone else.  
  
Dudley's howl filled the house, causing all three of the other inhabitants to wake up. Vernon and Petunia immediately rushed to their son's aide, Vernon screaming things like, "If that ruddy man is back-" and "So help me I'll-". Yet Vernon never really got around to saying what he'd do, exactly, if Moody was indeed back in their house. Only after Vernon had banged open the door to Dudley's room did the boy's screaming stop. He didn't look up at his parents, but continued staring at a spot some five feet in front of him, horror on his face.  
  
"Diddykins, what's the matter? Tell Mummy what's the matter, dear." soothed Aunt Petunia, reaching out to stroke her pig's hair.  
  
"That- That man's eye was floating in my room!" squeaked out Dudley, his face turning purple. "It was watching me!"  
  
"Come now Dudley, the man is gone, his eye wasn't in here, it couldn't have been." Vernon tried to calm his shaking son.  
  
But Harry, who was now standing in the doorway to watch the trio, suddenly felt himself grow very cold. He remembered what Moody had said earlier in the kitchen. Someone had taken Moody's eye, and it couldn't have been Dudley. No boy could act out such fear; no boy could play such a convincing joke. Rubbing his arms, Harry wondered about who else had been in his house that night, and if that person was still there.  
  
That's the end of Chapter One! I hope you liked it. I'll have the next chapter out shortly. It begins the 'evilness' in my story! 


	3. The End of Azkaban

Chapter 3: The End of Azkaban   
  
In the next few weeks, Moody's eye continued to appear in many unexpected places, and Dudley was beginning to lose sleep because of it. He spent most of the night sitting in his bed, a flashlight in one hand and a tennis racket in the other, jumping every time the house creaked, and swinging crazily with the racket.  
  
As for the waking hours, the Dursleys started hollering at least twice a day. Moody's eye showed up in Dudley's glass of orange juice, on top of the television, resting on the computer keyboard, settled in Vernon's pajama drawer, arriving with the mail, in place of one of the eggs in the new carton, inside Vernon's briefcase, and it could always be counted on to show up floating somewhere.  
  
While all three of the Dursleys spotted Moody's eye, Harry hadn't seen it once. This annoyed him to no great end, because he wanted more clues as to who it could be. With this additional mystery added to his list of things to worry about, Harry found that it took him forever to fall asleep at night. The lack of rest put him in a grumpy mood during the days. It was a lucky thing that the Dursleys weren't speaking to him; otherwise Harry was sure he'd have been punished severely for his cheek.  
  
The only thing keeping Harry from intentionally starting a confrontation with his relatives was the fact that August 1st seemed just around the corner, and Harry was sure that once he was out of the house, he wouldn't have to return for the rest of the summer.  
  
As it was, something happened to put the first of August out of Harry's mind. Shortly after his sixteenth birthday, (during which he'd received a welcome supply of gifts, cards, and sweets), Harry received a rather surprising edition of the Daily Prophet. The arrival of the paper itself wasn't the surprise, since he'd been subscribing since the Ministry had announced the return of the Dark Lord, but rather, the contents were what sparked Harry's interest.  
  
Staring out at him was a horrifying picture of a Dementor, with the title flashing above it:  
  
AZKABAN ABANDONED!  
  
Harry quickly read the first bit of the article:  
  
_Yesterday evening was an astonishing moment for ministry officials everywhere when they received word that the Azkaban prison had been emptied. The dementors that usually guard the prisoners had left, leaving the hardened criminals to escape. The departed dementors are rumored to have joined the services of You-Know-Who, although this cannot be held as fact. The real shock is the realization that all of Azkaban's prisoners have vanished. Azkaban has traditionally been the place where murderers and other Dark Wizards have been kept. At the time of jail-break, approximately one dozen Death Eaters had been in captivity, placed there last spring by Albus Dumbledore. These Death Eaters are now loose and have most likely returned to their master...  
_  
Harry finished the article in mild surprise. He'd known that the dementors would eventually leave Azkaban, but he hadn't realized about the great number of prisoners that would escape. Not only were the known Death Eaters loose, but other murderers were out there. What was to keep them from joining Voldemort, given that they were outlaws in their country and obviously didn't mind the killing?  
  
"Well, at least this explains my scar acting up last night." Harry reflected upon the burning he'd experienced during the night. Putting the paper aside, he began putting on his shoes. Just like the summer before, Harry had walked around the town almost every day. The solitude and quiet gave him time to think about his life, and Harry was slowly coming to terms with the prophecy. He'd gone from being scared to being grimly determined to find a way to rid the world of Voldemort forever.  
  
In fact, Harry had started studying his course books in earnest. He'd quickly completed the required assignments for the summer, and had moved onto his other books. He listened to Moody's advice and studied up on Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was the most logical, after all, if one was trying to defeat a dark wizard. But after spending the day studying, Harry needed to escape out on his walks.  
  
Then, a few days after the news about Azkaban, Harry began to notice things on his walks. Strangers that he'd never noticed in his town before began to watch him. He never actually caught them staring at him, but he felt their eyes on him as he walked past. It bothered him that all these strangers had showed up within the same few days. They looked like ordinary people, but Harry couldn't help but feel like glancing over his shoulder to be sure they weren't about to curse him.  
  
Part of him felt stupid for being bothered by these people. They looked like normal muggles. A man struggling over a garden. An old woman pushing her cane up a neighbors walk. A young boy skateboarding down Privet Drive. Normal people- ones that Vernon and Petunia would accept! But as new people showed up each night, Harry began to become more aware of their activity, instead of enjoying his walks.  
  
One night in particular, Harry felt like the world was plotting against him. It seemed that ever stranger he'd ever suspected in the past had shown up along his walk. The gardener, the skateboarder, the old woman, they all went about their duties while Harry glanced about suspiciously. He hadn't even gotten to the park when the nagging feeling took over his mind. Sighing, Harry turned back and started toward 4 Privet Drive.  
  
Climbing up his stairs, Harry felt an overwhelming apprehension in his gut. He burst into his room and was mildly surprised to see that everything was in order. Nothing was moved from where Harry had left it. Nothing suspicious peeked out from the corners. The only activity in the room was Hedwig ghosting in through the window.  
  
Feeling like a paranoid idiot, Harry calmly closed his door, determined to get over the nervous feeling. 'Perhaps I'll just turn in for the night.' he thought.  
  
Harry flopped down onto his bed. He felt Hedwig land on his stomach and he reached for her. He was surprised when she stuck her foot into his face. Harry quickly pulled off the tiny scroll of parchment. As he unrolled it, Hedwig began to peck at him, flapping around his head in a frenzied manner.  
  
"Calm down Hedwig! Let me read it!" Harry glanced down at the parchment. Written hurriedly, the message caused Harry's stomach to drop.  
  
_ 'Harry, pack your belongings immediately! He's found a way around your protection at the Dursleys. Were coming as fast as we can. –A. Dumbledore'  
_  
But the warning came too late. A huge blast echoed through the house, and Harry heard the sound of glass breaking downstairs. Shakily, he pulled out his wand as his aunt and uncle started screaming. 


	4. Returning to the House of Black

Chapter Three: Returning to the House of Black  
  
Footsteps pounded up the stairs.  
  
Sighing, Harry glanced at Hedwig. "I hope this doesn't get me expelled from school." He remarked. Hedwig's response was to glide out the window. Harry wished that he could follow her example and escape to safety on his broomstick, but he had to find out if the Dursleys were still alive.  
  
Facing the door, Harry waited until the knob started turning before beginning his spells:  
  
"STUPEFY!"  
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS"  
"STUPEFY!"  
  
He shouted quickly, hoping that one of his spells would make contact with the intruder. Ducking as one of the spells was bounced back at him, Harry managed to see three figures in the doorway.  
  
Two were standing, closing off Harry's escape, while the third figure was sprawled on the floor, unconscious. Taking in their black, hooded robes and masks, Harry identified them as Death-Eaters, Voldemort's supporters. They both had their wands trained on Harry.  
  
"It seems you've nowhere to run Potter." snarled one of them. Harry winced as he identified the voice of Lucius Malfoy, a wizard who was supposed to be in Azkaban.  
  
Stepping around the figure on the floor, Lucius started toward Harry. In response, Harry backed away from him, until he felt his back come in contact with the bedroom wall. Worried as his was about how he would escape, Harry put on a brave face for the men.  
  
"What do you want with me this time Malfoy?" he asked. Perhaps if he could stall them until the order members arrived...  
  
"This time Potter? This time the Dark Lord simply wants you dead!" said Lucius. Harry smirked.  
  
"This time? Gee, I thought Voldemort's wanted me dead for the last fifteen years. But alas, it seems he's been too weak to fulfill his wishes." Harry was trying to be quick-witted, but verbal sparring wasn't something he was very good at. Harry heard Lucius scoff at him.  
  
"Perhaps his was too weak then, Potter, but you should know how powerful he has become since his return to his body."  
  
"Really? Because last year at the Ministry it seemed he wasn't even able to possess a fifteen year old boy!" Harry laughed.  
  
"Shut up boy. You don't know what you are talking about."  
  
"Oh, but I do. You see, you won't be killing me here." Harry replied confidently.  
  
"And why would you think that?"  
  
"Because-" But Harry never finished his sentence because in that moment a brilliant pulse of light shot through the room and blasted into the Death-Eaters. As they fell to the floor, Harry looked around wildly to find out where the spell had come from. He found nothing.  
  
Looking at the Death-Eaters, Harry noticed that they lay motionless on the floor. Walking forward, he studied their prone bodies. They were breathing, and conscious, but they seemed trapped in an unmovable state. Lucius looked at him with hatred in his eyes, as Harry pulled the man's wand from his grasp. Moving to the next Eater, Harry noticed with a start that the same eyes stared back at him. Lucius' companion was his son, Draco Malfoy! Harry quickly took Draco's wand and then picked up the fallen wand of the Death Eater he'd hit earlier.  
  
Once he'd placed all three wands into an inner pocket of the nearest wizarding robe, Harry pulled on the garment and pointed his wand at his trunk. He quickly shrank all his wizard belongings and placed them in another pocket. Picking up the only thing he hadn't shrunk- his broomstick- Harry walked out into the hall, his wand held firmly in front of him. When he descended the stairs, he gasped in shock. No less than a dozen Death Eaters lay helplessly on the ground. Hurrying past them, Harry moved into the dining room, and then the kitchen. There was no sign of his aunt or uncle, or his cousin.  
  
Glancing around his kitchen, Harry spotted a note on the table. Resting upon it was Moody's magical eye. Lifting the note, Harry read it in amazement.  
  
_Harry Potter,  
You're welcome for the assistance. This spell will wear off in twenty minutes, so I hope you are wise enough to leave. Next time, less talking and more magic. Do you realize what you almost gave away? I hope you take more care in the future. I am returning Mad-Eye's eye to you, please return it to him at your earliest convenience. I have moved your family to the old squib's home down the street. They are sleeping in the living room and have no memory or injury from tonight's affairs.  
  
-A friend _

_PS- I've spelled you so that you'll be unable to tell anyone about me, aside from Ron and Hermione. They are spelled in the same manner.  
_  
Harry gaped at the paper. Whoever this person was, they were right. He'd almost mentioned that Voldemort would have to be the one to kill him- that nobody else could! Harry froze in horror at the thought for a second before snapping back to reality. He had only five, maybe ten minutes left. Harry quickly went back to the room with the Death Eaters and retrieved their wands. He doubted that they all needed wands, but perhaps being without them would slow them down. As he gathered the wands, he noticed the faces of some of the Death-Eaters. They weren't new to him, but never before had he seen them as Death-Eaters. They were the 'normal muggles' that he'd been suspicious of on the streets.  
  
Hurrying back to the kitchen, Harry was about to open the door when five loud POPS filled the kitchen. Glancing around, Harry saw five order members- Lupin, Tonks, Molly & Arthur Weasley, and Dumbledore arrive in his kitchen. They smiled when they saw him.  
  
"All set Harry?" Molly smiled at him. Harry looked at them and began laughing. They traded confused glances. Before Harry could respond, a large owl swooped in the window.  
  
"What's that?" asked Tonks, as the bird started toward Harry.  
  
"I reckon it's my letter expelling me from Hogwart's." Harry smirked. "Come, I've got to show you something." He led them to the living room, where they stared in confusion at the fallen Death Eaters.  
  
"What did you do?" whispered Mr. Weasley.  
  
"I didn't do anything. But the spell should wear off in a few minutes, so if we could be going now?" Harry gestured to the door.  
  
"Mr. Potter. Kindly explain how it is that you are in a house with over a dozen Death Eaters, all of which are frozen on the floor, and yet you did nothing to stop them." instructed Dumbledore. Harry sighed.  
  
"I can't tell you how it happened, but it did and if we could leave before they wake?" Harry asked feeling slightly annoyed that they weren't grasping the concept.  
  
"Them waking is not a problem for me." said Dumbledore. "The problem is what to do with them? Azkaban has fallen Harry-"  
  
"I know- I read it in the Daily Prophet."  
  
"Then you also know that every prison in the wizarding world was abandoned?"  
  
"Er, no, I guess I didn't read that far." Harry thought, thinking back on how he'd only read the first paragraph of the paper.  
  
"Yes, well, there's nowhere to put them." Dumbledore stated.  
  
"But we can't just leave them here!" exclaimed Tonks, her hair changing from blue to green. Harry raised his eyebrows. What had her so worked up that she was losing control over her abilities?  
  
"I've no intention of letting them walk free, but the fact remains that we've nowhere to take them." Dumbledore replied.  
  
But the problem of where to put them never had to be resolved, for at that moment every Death Eater in the room disappeared with a loud POP! The order members jumped in surprise.  
  
"How'd they do that?" Harry asked.  
  
"Voldemort's call. In their condition, they couldn't control whether they wanted to apparate or not, so they simply did." Lupin supplied. Harry nodded in understanding.  
  
"How unfortunate. To have over a dozen Eaters taken captive would have been miraculous." Arthur Weasley remarked quietly.  
  
"But here's some good news" Harry supplied, reaching into his robes, "I've got-" Then he stopped, frowning at his robe.  
  
"What is it Harry?" asked Molly.  
  
"I collected their wands while they were fallen. But they aren't where I put them." Harry glared at his robe, as if it were somehow responsible.  
  
"Ah, well you see, that is because a wizard can link his wand to him, so that it goes where his does." said Dumbledore kindly. "But you've wouldn't have known that all Death-Eaters are linked to their wands." Harry looked at his feet. He'd wasted time collecting their wands.  
  
"Come now Harry, we really must be going." said Arthur, leading Harry by the elbow.  
  
"Right... ah, how are we going this time?" he asked.  
  
"The same as last." smiled Lupin. Minutes later they were flying through the air on broomsticks, headed to a place that Harry wasn't sure if he was ready to deal with. After an hour's travel- the journey was longer without Moody along- Harry landed in front of a dark, gloomy home.  
  
12 Grimmauld Place- the home of his godfather.

* * *

So what do you think? 


End file.
